Whisper of the Heart - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Whisper of the Heart

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
As of this year Studio Ghibli has officially cut ties with Disney proper for their releases and have moved over to Shout Factory as their new distributor. Over this last month they have released 8 of their original titles that were given to Disney, and are in the works to redistribute just about all the rest of their titles (minus the ones licensed to Universal and Up on Poppy Hill and Grave of the Fireflies), INCLUDING the single title that even Disney couldn’t get. My Neighbors, the Yamadas. I missed the opportunity to review for you all 8 titles that were released on the 17th of October, but over the course of the next month or so there will be another set of batches that are coming over via Shout, and I’ll be putting those out for you. Disney did some great stuff with their Studio Ghibli releases, but there were a small handful of titles (such as Princess Monnonoke) that had subpar subtitles as Disney used “Dubtitles” (translations of the English dub) vs. traditional direct translations from the Japanese language tracks that REALLY frustrated purists (myself included). With these new releases, Shout Factory and Studio Ghibli have worked together to rectify those small issues and re-release their lineup on Blu-ray once more at a substantially lower price than Disney was able to.

It’s not a new phenomenon that money doesn’t buy happiness. It seems so “new” to each generation when they realize that having a college education and working at a good job (if you can GET a good job with a college education these days) and work hard doesn’t mean you’re going to find that spark of happiness that everyone struggles so hard to achieve. Even back in 1995 people were starting to understand that little realization. Hayao Miyazaki spoke out in frustration back then, stating that he felt a deep sense of loss over the fact that society gave such an importance to education, when modern education was robbing young people of their individuality and nuance. Japan should know about that, as they are a nation that is almost obsessed with education and high marks in education. Even though they have an enormous suicide rate for their populace due to the enormous pressure that education, and subsequently their job, put on the backs of people. With that in mind, Miyazaki wrote the script for Whisper of the Heart.

Whisper of the Heart is a story about loss. Not just personal loss, but the lamentation of a society that puts so much emphasis on creating model students that those students lose that creative spark within them. It’s not a high flying fantasy film like most of Miyazaki’s work, but a harshly grounded film that is set in modern day (for 1995) Tokyo and revolves around a young middle school boy and girl coming of age together. Shizuku (Yoko Honna in Japanese, and Brittany Snow in English) is your average middle school girl in Tokyo, and a fledgling writer as well. Obsessed with books, creating her own poetry, and her studies, she sparks an interest in a young boy even though she has no idea of his identity. All she knows is that a boy named Seiji (Issei Takashi/David Gallagher) has his name in the library card (I remember those things) of every book that she’s attracted to. Fantasizing about what kind of boy he is, she is turned off track and accidentally ends up at the door of a doll maker’s shop. There she meets a young man and those little sparks fly.

We as the audience have already guessed it, but poor Shizuku doesn’t realize it till later, but this young boy is Seiji himself (and her little castle in the sky fantasy comes crashing to the ground). Her whole world gets turned upside down when her little crush turns out to be something more and, this is devastating when she learns that Seiji is having to move to Milan, Italy, for a few months as he pursues his career as a violin maker. As their relationship matures and grows, Seiji encourages Shizuku to explore her writing talents while she softens his crusty exterior and shows him that there is more to life than just working diligently behind a bench.

Whisper of the Heart is a touching love story that doesn’t FEEL like a love story. When we initially think of the phrase “love story” we automatically think of sappy doe eye looks, romantic dinners, sex scenes, stupid miscommunications that fuel a conflict that must be resolved in a passionate kiss, etc. etc. etc. Instead, one off Ghibli director Yoshifumi Kondo crafts a story that is really a coming of age story that blossoms into a subtle romance. The story delves into multiple different avenues, but the main focus is really wrapping oneself around loss. Shizuku feels like her world is coming down when Seiji moves away, but instead of falling into a mess, she falls directly into her life’s passion and begins writing in a serious manner. It’s fascinating to watch her test herself, and try to grow as a PERSON instead of wallowing in pity. Wrapped up in her books she allows herself a creative avenue to push forward and sparks the sense of purpose that will propel her forward in her life.

What really makes this film great is the characters and winks to other movies. Seiji and Shizuka are both so incredibly realistic as middle schoolers. Rough around the edges, nervous, and so full of naivety, they are just incredibly relatable and authentic. Shiro Nishi (Seiji’s grandfather) is probably my favorite character in the film though, as his sweet guiding wisdom stabilizes the young girl in her path to wish fulfillment. Also you can see a few winks and nods to other films along the way (you see a doll of Porco Rosso at one point, and the film also introduces the cat-doll “The Baron” and Muta the cat, who both are main characters in one of the next Ghibli films, The Cat Returns). My wife is firmly convinced that The Cat Returns is actually one of Shizuku’s stories, as The Baron and Muta play such an important part in this film (and I can see her points of view), and I can actually see her point, as I think Hiroyuki Morita definitely took the idea of her stories and ran with them in that film.




Rating:

Rated G for general audiences




Video:

Whisper of the Heart is actually the first one of all the Studio Ghibli films from Shout where I can say I noticed an appreciable differences, albeit rather small in the grand scheme of things. We have guessed that Ghibli is providing Shout Factory with the same masters that were used for the Disney Blu-rays, but Shout has given us a better bitrate for the films (which usually nets VERY VERY minor differences if you stop and focus on screenshots), but Disney really sold Whisper of the Hearts on a low bitrate of 17 mbps, and while nice, did show some artifacting. Shout’s release is nearly double that, at 30 mbps and even in motion I was noticing that the image was crisper and cleaner (albeit, not THAT much crisper and cleaner). The few moments of color banding from the Disney release are gone, and the overall look appears SLIGHTLY sharper (or I’m going under some serious placebo effects here). Colors are bright and cheery throughout, with wonderfully hand rendered animation that just pops off the screen. It may not be AS vibrant as modern animated films, but it is very true to the source as Miyazaki and Ghibli are not in the habit of tweaking color timings etc. Blacks are deep and inky, and the I noticed no jaggies or marring of the character and background outlines. An overall EXCELLENT sound track.






Audio:

Like usual, we’ve got the two standard options for Lossless in both English and Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1, AND the obligatory 5.1 French track. I hate to admit this, but I actually like the English dub. Cary Elwes (who also plays the Baron in The Cat Returns) is fantastic, and Brittany snow adorable. I still have a fondness for the original Japanese dubbing, but I have a hard time choosing between the two of them. The tracks are nearly identical in sound design, which means its a very forward heavy sort of film that really doesn’t have a wild amount of action. Certain activities such as wind blowing across the open yard, or the rustle of fabric as someone movies will light up the rear channels, and the LFE adds some weight to the score, but otherwise this is a fairly mild track. However, this still deserves high marks as everything is evenly balanced and the front sound stage is impeccable.





Extras:

• Storyboards
• "Four Masterpieces of Naohisa Inoue: From Start to Finish"
• "Background Artwork from The Baron's Story"
• Behind the Microphone
• Original Theatrical Trailers
• Exclusive Booklet

Final Score: ​

Without delving into high fantasy or deeply historical works of fiction like The Wind Rises, Whisper of the Heart looks into the heart loss and personal growth in a deeply intimate way. Love and romance are at the center, of this story of self awareness, but it’s never overly sappy or unnatural in any way. Fans of Studio Ghibli’s more fantastical stories may find this one a bit slow, but it is an exceptional drama that is still sweet and powerful some 23 years after Miyazaki penned the script for the film. Shout Factory improves on the Disney disc slightly and if you haven’t picked it up, it definitely is the definitive edition out there. Fantastic watch.





Technical Specifications:

Starring: Brittany Snow, Cary Elwes, David Gallagher
Directed by: Yoshifumo Kondo
Written by: Aoi Hiriagi (comics), Hayao Miyazaki (Screenplay)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DD 5.1
Studio: Shout Factory/Studio Ghibli
Rated: G
Runtime: 111 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: January 16th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Fantastic Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Great movie. I have this one on dvd.